| Author: | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2018 Location: California Posts: 103
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 21, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $42.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Compact | | Cons: | Big Front Element | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1, K-3
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Since there's hardly any reviews for this amazing gem I'll add my perspective.
I bought this lens on ebay for 42$ after shipping, I was very interested after reading the reviews on here and wanted to see if they could hold up to the real thing.
Sharpness:
It's sharp, on my k3 there's no vignetting at all even at 19mm which is amazing. On the K1 it vignettes a bit but stopping down is an easy fix, sharpness in the center is comparable to primes all the way through the focal range.
Aberrations:
At 19mm towards the outer edges the aberrations make their presence known and sharpness drops considerably. but the problem is gone by zooming in.
Bokeh:
Cant really add to this, I do landscapes so I never use f3.5, but as long as there are no glaring problems it's good enough.
Handling:
Easy to use, has an auto aperture button which makes it much easier to than moving the ring itself. It does have a large front element that sticks out quite a bit, kind of scary knowing if you trip over some rocks it's game over for this baby.
Here are some pics
For this the left side of the photo is pretty blurring with maybe some vignetting?
This lens was certainly a gem and for $40 it is probably the biggest bang for my buck.
| | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2012 Location: Medina, OH Posts: 7,224
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 16, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $90.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Full frame, sharp, good color rendition | | Cons: | Large for its focal area | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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This lens has been in my lens cabinet for a year or so. I bought it as old/new stock in box, and used it on the K-5II and K-3. It offers excellent results, and is at least marginally better than kit lens Pentax-DA 18-55, but is not weather proofed. The lens came very completely equipped--front and back caps, large useful hood, and even a 77mm Promaster brand UV filter, not a cheap item at that size. On a whim, I decided to try it on the K-1 and guess what -- it is full frame with no vignetting at any of its focal distances!
So . . . this lens is sharp, offers great color rendering, is so-so on bokeh, and is a fantastic value if its focal length range is useful to you. My main reason for posting the review is to point out that it is a bargain full-frame alternative.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: November, 2011 Posts: 52
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 26, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $73.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Tac sharp, F50mm 1.7 type Bokeh | | Cons: | Slight exposure washout with onboard flash large 77mm filters | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5, K-3, K-10-D
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This lens is quite a surprise. While using it with the K-10 I found to wash -out with slight over exposure. Easily corrected in post processing. Then lens was put in the cabinet for several years and was just recent brought out again.
The K-5 and K-3 have done wonders for this lens. The Colour rendition is excellent. Fast,FAST FAST auto focus and Tac Sharp. The bokeh rivals the F-50mm 1.7 and that is quite a statement. Landscape is where this lens excels.
If you can get your hands one of these gems in the rough, its a must do.
Price is excellent and what a value at $73.00
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2014 Posts: 13
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 6, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | IQ, color rend, adequately fast, VALUE | | Cons: | awkward at 77mm, janky AF | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
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Bought this lens as new-old-stock in the original sealed box with a $299.99 MSRP tag on it  . I lost the kit lens so this was a replacement. Word on the web is that this lens is rebranded from Cosina and Vivitar Series 1, which is going for twice as much.
I'm thrilled! At it's softest wide open, it seems as sharp as the 18-55 kit lens, and stopped down from there the images are just better. They seem deeper and colors more contrasty. One loss to the kit lens is the minimum focus length. I found the bokeh nice for such a wide, moderate-speed lens.
As mentioned, the autofocus is noisy and clacks sharply when switching direction. It can hunt a little in low light with low-contrast subjects. I personally don't mind the robo-jitters, since it performs. My friend has a super silent Nikon 35mm prime lens and I find that I don't have the right feedback when the lens doesn't make noise. Also as mentioned, the 77mm filter size is slightly annoying. The lens is built with a seemingly-unnecessary flange on the end that makes it this big. No probs with flaring, yet.
Will upload some pics once I figure out this membership thing. EDIT: finally uploaded pics from the last year. The two of the wooden hut are on a K-x APS-C with a Moose's CPL, the rest are on a leaky Sears super KSX from mom's closet.
 | | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2013 Location: Nevada, USA Posts: 3,348
8 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 23, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, focuses easy, colors | | Cons: | Large, a bit heavy, lens threads rotate with focus | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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This lens appears under other name brands such as Cosina, Vivitar, and Tokina. I wanted to post something under the Promaster brand for two reasons. First, I wanted to comment on its own specific features and second, I know there may be people in the future looking specifically for this lens and I want them to be able to find something which may be useful.
Do a quick Google search of "19-35mm" and you will be quickly rewarded with lots of sample images and reviews of this lens in various mounts under several brand names. It seems to have been available for Nikon, Canon, and Pentax for sure. As mentioned before, it was also available under different name brands. The optical design is all the same though. There are some slight differences in the external cosmetics to distinguish one brand from another.
Pros
The color rendition is noticeably better than the DA L 18-55mm kit lens. They are deeper and a bit more saturated. Contrast is also deeper.
This lens produces images that are also noticeably sharper than the kit lens. When I zoom in on my 16MP shots I run into the limits of the sensor way before I have a chance to stress the lens. If you're looking for edge to edge sharpness for wide angle nature shots then I would recommend using the lens from f/9 to f/13. Go above that and the center starts losing sharpness even though the corners get sharper. That may be OK if you are viewing the image from afar or making a limited size print (i.e. not a 22"x36" poster print). Go lower and the edges get soft. Just depends on what you want. I don't notice significant aberrations like color shift or distortion.
The focal length range is narrow - barely 2x from 19mm to 35mm. This is a double edged sword. As a pro, I see the design as not needing to make as many design compromises as a wider range zoom. Performance at 35mm is great just as it is at 19mm. I would not hesitate to use the full range. I'll mention the con later.
This is not a fish eye! Fish eye lenses are fun but their distortion is too much for me to accept (at least for now).
It is a full frame lens. This works great with an APS sensor. You will retain the sharp center and crop out the soft corners. Plus, if you ever find yourself with a FF body then this lens should work without vignetting.
It focuses very quickly both in LiveView and through the OVF. There is very little hunting if ever.
Neutral
It has an aperture ring for those who may want it.
It has a metal mating surface. This is a neutral for me since I'm ok with well engineered plastics.
Speaking of engineered plastics, this lens has a plastic body. Hence, it's nickname of "plastic fantastic". It's a neutral for me but I know there are many people who are looking for full metal bodied lenses. I see the plastic as being stiff enough to survive normal use and hold everything together straight but springy enough that if this lens hits the ground then the glass will be dampened.
Cons
The lens is rather large and kind of heavy for such a limited focal length.
Did I mention the limited focal length? In a world filled with high quality super zooms this lens feels like a speciality item. If your zoom covers this range then you don't really need this lens unless you want it. It would just be another "thing" to carry in your bag. I use this lens as a compliment to my FA 28-105 with a little bit of overlap. It's perfect for me. Others may find this to be limiting.
This lens flares real easy and my copy didn't come with a lens hood. I use my hand and that has been working out OK. Finding an original hood has been proving itself to be difficult so I may go for a deep wide angle hood. The front element rotates as the lens focuses so a petal style hood is out of the question.
I bought this lens to fill a range that my FA 28-105mm misses. Those extra 10mm of wide angle view are immense for me so this lens is worth it up to a certain price point. There are modern lenses that go wider and lower but they also cost significantly more. I'm not ready to spend that kind of coin yet. Just think of how many dollars you spend per mm of range or dollars per f/stop. This two lens combo has been working out well for me both in terms of cost and range. I hope to expand this kit of mine with other lower cost "limited range" zooms.
Here are some sample shots so you can see the IQ for yourself. They are scaled down to reduce bandwidth but they still offer some insight in the performance of the lens.
19mm, f/13
19mm, f/13
35mm, f/8
19mm, f/11
19mm, f/13
25mm, f/11
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